Dracula: The Impaler
takes the
connection of Vlad the Impaler to Dracula
and asks the question “How did he
become the world’s first vampire and how does that have any affect on us
today”? Not only did we want to explore the Dark Prince’s mysterious end
and ties to Bram Stoker’s classic, but we wanted the danger to be relevant
to our time and not stuck in the past.

How did the project come into being in the first place?

Steve Snyder, the cinematographer and co-writer, and I
were approached by Daniel Anghelcev and Diana Busuioc about making a
micro-budget film dealing with Vlad the Impaler. This was obviously a huge
undertaking to attempt to pull off without pissing off a million
Dracula/horror fans and maintaining a minimal budget. We knew right off
the bat that we would need to be very clever, but we were certainly up for
the challenge.

According
to my information, you co-wrote the script with Steve Snyder, based on a
story by your star Diana Busuioc - so what can you tell us about the
writing process, and did you take many liberties with Diana's story?

Diana and Daniel first approached us with a script that
had some of the core elements within it: Vlad as a religious (or
anti-religious, depending on your perspective) icon, the seven sins
template, teens visiting the prince’s castle, etc… but we all knew it
had a way to go. There were norror-genre elements that we knew we had to
add without letting it go into the camp-land that most low-budget horrors
fall into, whether consciously or not. Everyone was highly involved with
the formation of the script and story through all six drafts.

Storywise,
the film is deeply rooted in the Dracula-lore
- so how much research did you invest in that aspect of your story, and is
Dracula
(or Vlad the Impaler, if you may) a character who you're particularly fond
of?

I have always been fond of vampires. But the scary
ones, not this Twilight garbage. Stoker’s
Dracula is mesmerizing,
manipulative, and elegant in a way but he is also scary as hell. I suppose
what has always fascinated me with Dracula
is that he is the first
“named” vampire in mass-popular culture. Now while the reference to
Vlad by Stoker is thin at best, we wanted to run with it. You have a
tyrannical highly religious ruler whose death and final resting place is
still a mystery, then turn him into the world’s first vampire. Take away
all the “rules” (no daylight, holy water vulnerability, transforming
into bats, etc…) and what’s left is an incredibly strong and fast,
nearly immortal, demon-like human with a serious hankering for blood. So
we asked ourselves, “How would one gain this power?” Most of the
research I did for the film focused on Vlad Tepes and his history in
Wallachia. He was a seriously tormented guy and when you get to know what
he went through you start to somewhat understand why he did the terrible
things he is known for. In the film, Vlad is a tragic character and I
think that rings true to his history.

Do talk about your directorial approach to your
story for a bit?

Directing any micro-budget movie is a challenge but I
always like to start with a visual. For this movie, I saw a hideous black
centipede winding along black dirt between stonewalls in bright moonlight.
I wanted the tone, pacing and feeling of the film to emulate that. I also
wanted to maintain a certain reality to the film (yes, even though it’s
very fantastical), which meant working with the actors to create
characters that weren’t cardboard and collaborating with Steve to make
all the lighting based around moonlight and fire. We only had time for one
or two highly visual shots per day, so we had to make them count.

At times,
Dracula: The Impaler turns quite bloody and violent - so what can you tell us
about that aspect of your movie, and was there any line you refused to
cross?

I wanted all the death
scenes to be practical, meaning we veered away from CG effects as much as
possible. Again, this was an attempt to retain reality in the film and I
think it shows. There wasn’t necessarily a line we refused to cross, but
we wanted to make sure each character’s death said something about that
particular character and that decision somewhat dictated the violence.

You of course have to talk about your impressive
locations for a bit?

We researched hundreds of castles in the US but kept
running into the same problem: Nearly all the castles are built to look
like they might have in their nobility heyday, gorgeous and untouched by
war. What we needed was a castle that looked like it was falling apart and
touched by war some 500 years earlier. We were very lucky to find the
perfect castle just 40 minutes away from LA, so we could use our local
crew and not worry about the cast travelling. However, everything comes at
a price. The castle we used had numerous modern and American discrepancies
(including a motorcycle sticking out of a wall ten feet above the ground)
that we were forced to hide or shoot around.

What can you tell us about your
cast, and why exactly these people?

All of the cast (with the exception of Diana) was
auditioned over a three week process. Each of the cast members pulled off
fantastic auditions and the chemistry between them was very apparent. I
felt very lucky to have found each of them.

Do talk about the
shoot as such and the on-set atmosphere for a bit!

We had a lot to accomplish and not much time to do it,
so there were definitely some tense moments and just about everyone was
running to get where they needed to be at all times. We could not have
pulled off what we did if everyone on set wasn’t giving everything they
had to the project, but they did and it shows. That being said, I think
everyone really enjoyed shooting in a castle.

I currently have a number of projects in the works
including a hallucinogenic horror and an action/thriller. I can’t
divulge much about them, but stay tuned for more info soon!

Let's go back to
the beginnings of your career: What got you into filmmaking in the first
place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?

I was always obsessed
with film and its ability to tell stories that impact so many people in
so many different ways. I studied Acting for Theatre and Directing for
TV/Film at Pepperdine University.

You
obviously have to talk about your first feature Hemingway for a
bit?

Hemingway was another micro-budget challenge. I was
basically handed a script and told that I have one week to make any
changes, then six days to shoot on the following week. Regardless of the
challenge, I do think we were able to pull off a certain visual style that
shows in the film. I had also always been a fan of Alan Thicke’s work,
so it was a pleasure to work with him on my first feature.

How would you describe yourself as a
director?

I try to focus on feeling, rhythm, and tone first and
foremost because each project needs a different amalgamation of those
elements. That equation will then dictate visuals, acting style, and story
pacing. Of course, every story evolves as you move through the different
stages whether its pre-pro, production, or post. Usually, when developing
a story, a single image sticks in my mind that I will then use advise the
choices that need to be made.